USC players claim officials 'screwed' them in loss to Purdue

Standing in their Gainbridge Fieldhouse locker room after Thursday night’s season-ending 76-71 loss to No. 20 Purdue, USC standouts Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates were in “total disbelief” with what had just taken place in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament from Indianapolis. They were upset with officiating.

“They screwed us at the end,” Claude said, according to LA Times beat writer Ryan Kartje. It was clearly a hot topic, as Yates also joined in.

“Shit don’t make no sense,” Yates responded, per Kartje. Clearly, both Trojans players did not care about any possible punishment from such strong words.

Total disbelief inside USC’s locker room at the no-call on an apparent foul of Wesley Yates with five seconds remaining in the loss to Purdue. 

“They screwed us at the end,” Desmond Claude said.

“Shit don’t make no sense,” Wesley Yates added.

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) March 14, 2025

In a back-and-forth game in which USC (16-17, 7-13 Big Ten) languished in foul trouble much of the second half, and finished with a 22-15 lead in fouls for the game, it was a no-call at a critical moment that left the Trojans scratching their heads. With five seconds to go and USC trailing 74-71, Yates was sent to the floor after an apparent foul while trying to get open for a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

Rather than blow a whistle, the Big Ten officials allowed the play to continue, resulting in a steal by Purdue’s Braden Smith. USC senior forward Rashaun Agee quickly fouled Smith to stop the clock with 3 seconds left, fouling out of the game in the process, and the Boilermakers’ junior guard nailed both free throws to seal the victory.

“The game’s on tape, so anybody can watch it. And it doesn’t do me any good to sit up here and get fined or whatever,” Eric Musselman said during his postgame press conference. “The game’s reviewable for anybody that wants to. … Look, (now) I got to go face a locker room that their season’s over, and I thought the gameplan, even with guys in foul trouble, I thought we could’ve won the game. But we didn’t.”

Of course, the Trojans immediately expressed frustration after the final buzzer. And while Musselman didn’t directly call out the officiating postgame, he acknowledged USC has to “earn respect” as one of the newcomers in the Big Ten.

“I saw what everybody saw, you know what I mean?” Musselman said. “I appreciate it, Ryan, but … my daughter’s at home. She watched it on TV. She’s a freshman in high school. My mom’s obviously living in San Diego watching it. All you’ve got to do is go on Twitter.

“Look, we played well enough to win. That’s all I can say. I’m going to keep reiterating give Purdue credit. We’re new, we’ve got to earn respect.”

USC players get into altercation with Purdue fans following Big Ten Tournament loss

After USC’s loss to Purdue Thursday night in the Big Ten tournament, Trojans players got into an apparent altercation with Boilermakers fans. According to the person who caught the incident on video, the fans were heckling the players off the court after the game.

As USC was heading back to the locker room, tensions were high. Things then boiled over as the altercation broke out with Purdue fans.

USC players get on altercation with Purdue fans after loss in the #btt pic.twitter.com/LUd2w8iCt7

— Body (@thebj42) March 14, 2025

USC dropped below .500 with the loss, finishing 16-17 overall and 7-13 in its first Big Ten slate. Barring a postseason invite, Musselman’s first season in Los Angeles is in the books. Purdue, meanwhile, advances to take on Michigan on Friday in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.